


Welcome! Everything is Balanced

by 3ss3nc3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone’s Dead, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Rey Needs A Hug, SPOILERS for those who haven’t seen Good Place s1 finale but it’s your fault, Sorry I made Leia be Michael, Spoilers, The Good Place But Star Wars, but don’t worry she’s not REALLY evil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24248953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3ss3nc3/pseuds/3ss3nc3
Summary: The Good Place AU no one (except for @LDucky20 on Twitter, so thanks!) asked for.Please note that there will be SPOILERS for those who haven’t seen the season one finale of the show.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

WELCOME. EVERYTHING IS BALANCED.

Rey blinked. The bright, cheery green words in front of her soothed the disorientation she felt.  
_Where am I?_ She wondered.  
She was dressed in jeans and a blue shirt, and was sitting in what looking like a waiting room at a therapist’s. The couch was comfortable, she realised.  
Looking at the words again, she smiled. Balanced. That was nice.  
A door opened to her left. A kind, smiling older woman peeled out.

“Rey? We’re ready for you now—why don’t you come in?”

Rey smiles timidly back and stood, then followed the woman into the room.

“My name is Leia,” the woman told her. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

Rey nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I do, actually. Where am I? Who are you? What am I doing here? And is there anything I can eat?”

Leia smile seemed to grow even more friendly and warm.  
“All will be explained,” she said. Then her eyes softened, and she said more seriously, “To put it simply, dear, you’re dead.”

Rey blinked. 

And blinked again.

That was news.

“Cool,” she eventually blurted, for lack of anything better to say.

Leia nodded reassuringly. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

Rey had several more questions.  
“Wait, if I’m dead...” Her face grew somber, and dread filled her stomach.  
“ _Where_ am I? Am I—“ Rey smiled hopefully, gesturing with her index finger to indicate ‘up’—“Or am I—“ Rey adopts a sad expression, pointing her thumb down.

She rather hoped it was the former.

Leia chuckles lightly. It was a very pleasant sound, something akin to soft music. “While the concept of heaven and hell was greatly flawed, there is, simply speaking, a ‘good place’ and a ‘bad place’. I am pleased to tell you that you made it; you’re in The Good Place.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets to know The Good Place a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I was shocked at myself—instead of procrastinating I actually wrote another chapter! Renos are coming along well so I hope I’ll have more time to write again!

Rey breathed a sigh of relief. Her greatest fears—alleviated just like that.  
  
“Would you like to look around? I’d be happy to give you a tour,” Leia offers.  
  
Rey accepts, and she finds herself not in Leia’s cozy office, but on the streets of a bright plaza, with cute storefronts and greenery perfectly interspaced.  
  
“Wow,” is all Rey can say. The temperature is perfect, not too warm and not too cold, a soft breeze ruffling her hair but not disturbing it. The air feels like silk and smelled of summer and birdsong.  
  
Leia smiles knowingly.  
  
“Everything here, every blade of grass, every ladybug is perfectly designed for your enjoyment.”  
  
Leia takes Rey to a frozen yoghurt parlor, where the flavors are more than she could ever hope for on Earth.

“This is SO good!” Rey exclaims as the first bite of Passing an Exam Ripple filled her mouth.  
  
Leia just grinned. She led Rey over to a grassy park, where chairs and a large screen were set up, and Rey could see people milling about, and sitting in the chairs.  
  
“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying in s moment,” Leia said, “but for now, why don’t you have a seat? The movie’s about to start.” She gestured to the screen.  
  
Rey nodded eagerly and went to find a chair.  
She sat in the third most row, close enough to see but not stand out too much. Her favourite kind of spot.  
A minute later, the screen in front lit up, and Leia’s smiling face appeared.

“Welcome to your first day in the afterlife!” she said genially, “You all have done so much to be here, so I just want to say congratulations!”

A cheer rose from the other seated people.

Rey was confused. “Done so much”? What did that mean? Rey thought she had just barely scraped by. 

“Done so much”?

Not her.

“Let me just explain how it works. Then, you can go back to enjoying literal heaven,” Leia continued, and the audience chuckled.

“Each one of you is among the smartest, kindest, and _best_ people ever to live.”

Leia went on to explain how this was possible, talking about a complicated points system and the different point values for certain actions.

Rey began to grow more and more confused.

She’d never started a non-profit organization to help feed children in third-world countries. She herself came from what could be considered a third-world country, and she had still been struggling to make ends meet even after moving to Coruscant. And she wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but she though she’d used “Facebook” as a verb before, subtracting 14 points from her total for each occurrence.

Rey bit her lip. She was finding it harder and harder to enjoy the show, with Leia smiling effervescently at her and bright, cheery music playing.

When it ended, Rey didn’t realize it until a kind-looking Middle-Eastern man touched her shoulder gently.

“The video’s over, now,” he said kindly.

Rey nodded at him and stood. She had no idea where to go next, and her stomach was twisted in knots she didn’t know were there until a warm maternal voice sounded from beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Side note, I was gifted an AMAZING mood board for this fic by @sedsempersolo on Twitter. As soon as I figure how how to put it up here I will, so there’s that!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia takes Rey to her new home.

“Hello again, dear,” Leia said, smiling that friendly smile that made Rey feel a little better, even though she somehow felt like she was cheating Leia.

“Did you enjoy the little film?” Leia asked conversationally.

Rey nodded enthusiastically, overcompensating for what she knew was a blank look on her face.

“Yes,” Rey choked out.

Leia just kept smiling.

“Wonderful. Now, would you like to see more of the neighborhood or do you want to see your house?” she asked.

Rey frowned. “ _My_ house?”

Leia nodded. “Yes, your dream house. Look,” she said, and Rey immediately found herself in front of a tiny, brightly colored house that looked like no house she’d ever seen—or wanted to live in.

“This is your dream house,” Leia explained excitedly, unaware of Rey’s averse internal reaction. “It is a manifestation of all your favorite elements on Earth.”

Leia led Rey inside and Rey couldn’t help but wince.

Apathetic modern décor and furniture glared at her from odd angles, the room they were in a stark contrast to Rey’s own home. Several horrifying, garish pictures of clowns seemed to sneer down at her and Rey shivered.

Leia didn’t notice.

“You love modern European styles, don’t you?” Leia grinned. She walked over to the gallery of grotesque clown paintings and gestured to the worst of them.

“And we didn’t forget your affinity for clowns, of course,” Leia chuckled.

Rey had to clench her fists to keep from screaming. She plastered a wide, ersatz smile on her face and managed to parrot, “Of course.”

Leia opened her mouth to say more, but then a knock sounded at the door. Leia clapped her hands together.

“Oh! That’ll be your soulmate, Rey!”

Rey’s heart nearly stopped.

Soulmate?

As in, someone to love her?

A friend, perhaps?

If that was true, Rey would gladly bear the uncomfortable furniture and the horrendous clowns. She’d give anything to be loved, she always would have.

Leia strode gracefully for the door and opened it.

A tall, dark-haired man stood there, his stern yet handsome features arranged in an expression that could only be described as shy, or perhaps unsure.

“Rey,” Leia said brightly.

Rey blinked. She realized she’d been staring and quickly stepped forward.

“Hello, Rey,” the tall man said, his deep voice soothing all of Rey’s misgivings. 

“I’m your soulmate, Ben.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey get to know each other—sort of.

Rey stood frozen for a moment, overwhelmed for a brief second. Then, deciding to forego her initial hesitation, she stepped forward and opened her arms.

“Well, bring it in, man!” Rey said breezily.  
What the hell. It was heaven, wasn’t it?

Rey could finally start over. Build herself a new persona.

Ben hesitated, but Rey eventually felt his arms wrap gently around her. She hugged him back, ignoring her annoyance at him treating her like she would break if he squeezed even a little.

Ben pulled away first, his cheeks red.

Leia smiled at them.  
“I’ll let you two get acquainted. If you need anything, just ask Jannah,” she said.

Rey frowned as Leia left, shutting the door behind her.

“Who’s Jannah?” she asked.

Ben smiled a little. It transformed his face, and Rey couldn’t help but internally swoon at the sight.

“I’ll explain later, I think you’ve had enough surprises already.”

Rey cocked her head. “ _I’ve_  
had too many surprises? When did you get here?”

Ben shrugged. “I dunno. Time isn’t really a thing here, but I’ve spent a ‘night’ already.” He gestured toward an  
uncomfortable-looking bench and they sat.

Rey nodded. “So…what did you do? On earth?”

Ben’s eyes lightened. “I was a professor of ethics and philosophy. I spent my life on the pursuit of becoming a better person, and trying to teach others the same.”

Rey swallowed hard. “Cool.”

Ben smiled slightly. “What about you?”

“Oh, nothing, really,” Rey tried to dismiss, waving her hand aimlessly.

Ben caught her hand. Both he and Rey seemed to inhale sharply.

“Sorry…I don’t know why I did that. I never usually do anything without thinking it through very thoroughly.” Ben dropped her hand.

She almost...missed it. His hand was so much larger than hers, and it was warm and firm. She quite liked it.

Rey cleared her throat, trying in vain to send the ridiculous notions out of her mind.  
She literally _just_  
met the guy.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I um, I didn’t do anything of import when I was on earth. I don’t know why I’m here, really.”

Ben snorted. “Well, I don’t believe you. Why don’t we have a look?”

Rey looked at him quizzically, but before she could say anything more Ben called, “Jannah!”

A smiling woman appeared in front of them.

If Rey hadn’t been sitting, she would have staggered back.

“Wha—what? Who…” Rey stuttered.

The woman smiled, and waved. “Hi! I’m Jannah. How can I help you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Jannah’s Janet. 😆  
> I mean, aside from their names sounding remarkably similar, I always imagined Jannah to be as lighthearted and carefree as Janet, had her situation been different.  
> On the flip side, Jannah would make a killer Simone from season 3 but I dunno if I have the patience or the time to write that far, so. Jannah not-a-girl it is. 😁


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is finally forced to tell Ben the truth.

Ben smirked at Rey’s obvious surprise. He turned to the woman—Jannah—and said, “Hey, Jannah. Could we possibly take a look at some of Rey’s highest point-earning actions?”

Jannah smiled at Ben, then at Rey. “Of course. Here are Rey Niima’s highest point-earning accomplishments.”

A screen materialized in front of them, and a video began to play. A series of videos, actually.

In the first, a hand was giving a group of poor children gifts from a crate. 

In another, the same hand rested on the shoulder of an emotional man in prison garb. He looked up at whomever the hand belonged to and smiled with such gratefulness Rey felt like crying herself.

When it ended, Jannah turned to Ben. “Is that all?”

Ben nodded, and Jannah disappeared, along with the screen.

Rey stood astounded.

“That was…amazing,” Ben told her quietly, awe evident in his tone. “What you did…”

Rey swallowed. “What I did?” she asked hoarsely. None of this made sense. It _was_ her name, but…

“Both a criminal defense attorney, saving countless people from death row, and feeding starving children in Africa…” Ben lifted her chin in his hands. “Never say you didn’t do anything. That is the farthest thing from the truth.” He chuckled humorlessly. “And that’s coming from someone who has pursued the concept of truth his whole life and still hasn’t really found it. Until now,” he said, staring into her eyes.

That did it.

Several tears leaked from her eyes, and though Rey tried to wipe them away, they just kept coming. Like her problems. Both on earth and now, even in heaven.

“Ben,” Rey whispered, “you’ll stand by my side no matter what, right?”

Ben nodded. “Of course.”

Rey grabbed his hand tightly. “No matter what, you’ll vouch for me?”

Ben sighed. “Rey, I promise that I will _never_ do _anything_ to cause you harm.”

Rey took a breath.

With Ben’s heartfelt words just minutes earlier, this was going to be hard.

“Good,” she said, as lightly as she could manage.

“Because those aren’t my memories. I didn’t do any of those things. I don’t  
know what happened, but I’m _not_ supposed to be here.” Rey smiled weakly, spreading her hands in a “ta-da” gesture that she didn’t at all feel.

Ben blinked. He stared blankly at her for a long time before speaking.

“Wait, what?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has to explain herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Thinking back, I wished I had watched the first season again in preparation for writing this. At first, I was too busy  
> and thought that watching the whole series 3+ times was good enough. Then, I was like, ‘it’s my own version, and I’ll just wing it’.  
> Of course, then the BLM movement started and I was on the fence about posting today. 
> 
> I realised that if I have trouble coping, if I sometimes need distraction, then so could others. That’s why I have posted and I hope you can find some peace.

Rey tried to explain.  
“It’s not that I was a _bad_  
person, I just didn’t do those things we saw. It was an honest mistake, but we  
don’t have to tell anyone, right? I mean, I was probably good enough to be here  
anyway. Let’s just keep it between us, okay?” She realized she was babbling,  
and clamped her mouth shut.

Ben just blinked at her.

“Say something,” Rey begged.

“Something,” Ben mouthed.

Rey rolled her eyes. “You _know_ what I mean. It’s not like I asked to be put in this situation. It’s just up to me to, I don’t know, find a way out of it. Cope with it. Get better.”

Ben frowned. “That’s actually not a  
bad—”

A lightbulb went off in Rey’s head.

“Hey!” she interrupted him,  
grabbing his hand, “you were an ethics professor, right? Well, why don’t you  
teach me how to be better? Like, good enough to have done those things,” Rey  
clarified brightly, gesturing in the general direction of where the extra-dimensional screen-thing had been.

Ben’s lips quirked, and Rey found  
her eyes drawn to the action. Sure, the guy had a weird personality, but he was  
 _hot_. Those lips…

“I don’t know if it works that  
way…” Ben began, breaking Rey’s obsessive reverie.

“Why not?” Rey asked, a little  
offended.

“I…”

“Please, Ben? Please?” Rey asked,  
fluttering her eyelashes at him. It had never really worked while she was alive  
but what the hell, right?

Ben’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and  
down, his expression pained.

Finally, he croaked, “Fine.”

Rey grinned. “Really? You’ll do it?”

“Yes, Rey, I’ll teach you ethics,”  
Ben said.

“Great! When—”

A knock sounded at the door, bright  
and quick ‘rat-tat-tats’ that only could have belonged to someone who never had a care in the world.

“Come in!” Rey called, a little too  
quickly. She looked at Ben quickly, begging him with her eyes to not say  
anything.

Ben looked uncomfortable but nodded  
stiffly.

The door opened.

It was Leia.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger! I’m exhausted and need sleep. I wish I could promise that a new chapter will be up tomorrow but my room’s being renovated and I have TONS in my plate right now so please be patient. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I’m emma_reylo on Twitter, come say hi!


End file.
